Input vs. Output - filling your cup & pouring it out

Before I moved to the UK I was seriously burnt out.  I’d been gigging as a theatre actor almost non-stop for a couple years.  Truly, living the dream I’d held for myself while I was in acting school. But I was exhausted.

And (perhaps more disturbingly) it struck me that I didn’t have much juice to bring to my work when the bulk of my time was spent in theatres, rehearsing and performing. I was lacking new outside experiences to draw inspiration from.

I found myself fantasising about going on sabbatical, spending a year reading books, taking in other forms of art, travelling, learning new skills like pottery, cooking or Portuguese, having conversations with people from completely different fields and writing but without the pressure of a deadline or a specific project in mind. 

While a year off without an income was not feasible, it got me thinking about the relationship between creative input and output.

FILL UP YOUR CUP.
 

It’s not a new concept. It’s one of those things we know and forget, and know and forget. We need food for fodder. Relentless output keeps us running on fumes, breathing recycled air – choose your metaphor – it’s exhausting and yields diminishing returns.

If you’ve forgotten to fill up, I hope this serves as a gentle reminder to monitor your creative inputs and outputs and seek balance.

Take stock.

Have you been doing all output and no input these days?

Or, maybe you’re the other way around, squirrelling away research and hard work on a project but reluctant to share it?
 
For the former, see how you can hit pause and brainstorm (without overwhelming yourself!) two or three ways you might like to do some input.  Could be watching all the films by a certain director, spending time in nature, interviewing people about a particular topic, researching something in depth for a project you’ve had on the back burner.  Make a list, carve out some time (10 minutes a day, 2 hours a week – whatever you can afford) and keep that input session with yourself and RELISH IT.
 
For the latter, consider how can you begin to share what you’ve been working on. How might you empty that cup?